THE CHURCH AND PROSPERITY

                                                IS JESUS THE POOREST MAN EVER? 

One of the most common of quotations from the Bible we hear today is: Jesus was made poor that we might become rich. It does produce hope for the average Christian so as to soot the pains in his lack of financial sufficiency.

2 Cor 8:9

9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

IS JESUS THE POOREST MAN EVER? 2

Before we move further let’s ask ourselves two questions which are as follows:

1.      What is the definition of poverty?

2.      . How poor was Jesus?

Poverty can be defined as gross lack of financial resources to meet one’s basic or fundamental needs. When Jesus carried out his ministry on earth, can any man alive today come out with substancial evidence that Jesus was so lacking in financial resources that he could not meet his financial obligations?

IS JESUS THE POOREST MAN EVER? 3

Let us now have an overall view of Jesus activity while he was on earth. 5,000 men had been with Jesus in a solitary place for 3 days and nights. Now to every one man present there would be atleast three women present for that is the statistics under which most churches operate. Now to every woman present there will be atleast three children and teenagers present. In all the population could have run into atleast 50.000 people that were fed with five loaves of bread and two fish., is this not so?

Wherever Jesus went, similar number of people followed him on  daily bases. Sometimes these people give offerings. Imagine the amount of money they would give willingly as offerings per day.

 

IS JESUS THE POOREST MAN EVER? 4

When Peter did not pay his tax, Jesus asked him to go catch a fish, open its mouth and use the coin inside it to pay the tax. If God could put a coin in the mouth of a small fish for his children to use, was it not also in HIS province to put billions of tons of gold coins into a thousand large whales which would in turn throw up the coins at night into one of the numerous beaches where Jesus normally pass the night in prayers with his disciples?

IS jesus the poorest man ever? 5

If all these money was not enough, couldn’t Jesus who raised Lazarus from the grave after he had been dead for four days use that same power to command the sand which is in the sea shore for multitude to transform themselves into gold coins and they would obey him without delay?

Can any man alive on earth today boldly claim that a man who commanded and had such great resources at his disposal, say that he is a poor man?  When men have proposed in their hearts to commit evil, they would go to any length to drum up support, hence it is not strange to see many financial experts cum pastors quote passages from the Bible to support actions which from the deepest part of their heart they know it is wrong.

IS JESUS THE POOREST MAN EVER? 6

For those of us who preach and act as though money and materialistic acquisition of earthly things is every thing, let us learn from our LORD, the great Master himself who humbled himself and suffered death on the cross of calvary that we might be saved from our sins.

Had Jesus wanted, he could have been born in Caesar’s palace but he chose to be born in the house of a carpenter. He could have bought five of the best chariots in Palestine for himself and one each for his disciples to ride on and one horse for each of the other people who regularly followed Him in His crusades but he chose to walk on foot from town to town like a common servant.

IS JESUS THE POOREST MAN EVER? 7

Had Jesus wanted, He could have built a palace in every town, city and village where he would ultimately preach but He chose to sleep in open field and mountain places. Or are we trying to say He could not afford these things?

When the Bible talks about Jesus making himself poor, couldn’t there be a more suitable explanation of this verse than to take it literarily and begin to confuse ourselves? When Pilate interrogated Jesus, he said, “You speak of a kingdom, that means you are a king.” Jesus replied, “My kingdom is not of this world, else my disciples would fight.”

IS JESUS THE POOREST MAN EVER? 9

When Jesus had finished cleansing of the temple that is driving out the people who did business in the temple, the following occurred.

John 2:18-21

 Then answered the Jews and said unto him; what sign show thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said unto them, destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spoke of the temple of his body.

IS JESUS THE POOREST MAN EVER? 10

There is what we call the riches of his glory.

Rom 9:23-24

23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,

24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

There is no contradicting the fact that Jesus CHRIST is GOD. Had He come down to earth in the form of GOD by the which he existed in Heaven, no man could have been able to stand before him as GOD.

 

IS JESUS CHRIST THE POOREST MAN EVER? 11

No mortal man could have been able to see his face and live.

Ex 33:20

20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

He would have been too awesome, too great and wonderful for any man to interact with, hence he had to humble himself and deny himself of the exceeding riches of His glory so that haven become like one of us he could resist sin and break the power of death caused by sin once and for all.

IS JESUS THE POOREST MAN EVER? 12

The great musician of our time, Don Moen put it this way: He walked where I walk, He stood where I stand, He touched what I feel, He understands, He knows my frailty, shared my humanity, tempted in every way, but without sin.

It is to be able to do this thing that was why Christ denied himself of the exceeding riches of his glory and made himself poor that we might become rich in faith like Abraham towards God. Jesus was never a poor man or a destitute so that all men would become millionaires. Anyone who continues to preach this get rich quick syndrome without sweat because Jesus made himself poor so you can become a millionaire overnight is wasting time promoting idle talk.

IS JESUS THE POOREST MAN EVER? 13

If it is true that we are all to be come financially wealthy as a result of Jesus poverty, why then did the apostles of Jesus not follow this trend as we see today being canvassed vigorously from our churches? Were we to assume as some argue that the Apostles were unschooled men so they could not come into the full reality of the divne provisions that God has made for them, can we also say same about the Holy Ghost who gave them the inspiration to write the scriptures admonishing the saints to abstain from the pursuance of worldly desires?

IS JESUS THE POOREST MAN EVER? 14

What about Paul, what about the other highly educated saints of old? Were these men and women also unschooled and ignorant, not knowing those things which the LORD has freely given them also? If the answers to these questions are no, how come it now looks as if it is only the Christians of this age especially in Nigeria that have suddenly woken up from their slumber and begin to enter the fullness of the reality of God’s provision for the acquisition of materialism so much so that this gospel of financial prosperity is being preached from one Sunday to another, week in week out, throughout the year to the detriment of other topics that should have been preached to the edifying and salvation of the soul?

LOVE AT CARDEN OF EDEN

                                                                Love at its peak

LOVE AT ITS PEAK

Three beings stood in the midst of a very beautiful garden. One of them was a manifestation of the son of the morning. The other two were a pair of young couples to whom this garden had been recently bequeathed. Their skin made from the best of materials ever known to man glistened brilliantly in the bright afternoon sun.

The man had just been offered a succulent fruit, fleshy and enticing to the eyes. This fruit already half eaten by the lady and the tempter who had pearched in a conspicuous corner of the tree regaling himself with it was now in the hands of this man. What would he do with it?. Would he eat eat it or smash it on the floor and walk away from the spot?

LOVE AT ITS PEAK 2

He carefully considered the options before him. He knew what is at stake.  

ssrr1 Tim 2:14

14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Should he walk away from the spot and see the woman he loved suffer and die alone? What about love, what about the times they have shared together, the promises made. This lady was the only one he had ever known. Would it be fair to see her die alone?

The second option was even more difficult. Should he eat the fruit and risk God/s Judgment? What about the love for his FATHER, what about the love and oath of allegiance he owed his Creator? As he thought about these things for the first time he saw himself cry. What should he do?  To be continued.

LOVE AT ITS PEAK 3

He took the half eaten fruit in his hands. He lifted it up slowly. He looked at the woman he loved. He hesitated for a moment. The atmosphere was very tense. At this point he was the cynosure of the eyes of all the beings in the universe. Everyone of them held their breath. He was about to take a step that would affect the course of history for all eternity.

He took a look at the lady he loved for the last time. He rased the fruit high, had a brainwave then he plunged it straight into his mouth. Spontaineously a great cheer broke out from among the hordes of evil spirits. They back slapped and embraced each other as they celebrated the fall of man. Their ecstasy knew no bounds.

LOVE AT ITS PEAK 4

They remembered vividly how they too have gone the way of disobedience and so driven away from heaven five million years ago. When this couple were formed, they watched from their hideouts espied the bliss with which the couple lived. The man was of enormous stature and great mental capabilities; traits which will dwarfen the most gifted of men of our days.

The woman’s beauty was beyond description. There are no sufficient words in our modern English language to aptly describe her so there is no point trying to offer one here.

As they strolled hand in hand in the garden attending to the needs of the plants and animals, an aura of divinity emanated from their naked bodies. This made the demons jealous and so went ahead to plot their fall so that man should share the same fate of eternal condemnation with them.

LOVE AT ITS PEAK 5

  

This act of man filled heaven with much sorrow. The holy angels could not understamd why man would fall prey to so small a temptation as this despite all the schooling he had received from them. Now they quivered with fear for the penalty he was going to get. They looked in the direction of the Almighty God but HE too was filled with much grief for HIS heart went out to man.

As they looked, lo and behold the Prince of Life rose up from His throne with much love and pain in His face and bowed before the FATHER and made His announcement thus:

Heb 10:7

7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

LOVE AT ITS PEAK 6

And as they watched, HE was transfigured before them. He took upon himself the form of a lamb ready to be slain on the altar of sacrifice in the heavenly temple. Then was he slain and the blood flowed endlessly from His broken body.

The Holy Angels watched in awe this proceedings. They in all their wisdom could not comprehend in the full format of its entirety the meaning of this scenario that was being played in their very before. Then the Holy S pirit of the Ancient of Days rose up as all the heavenly host fell flat in worship. HE took a piece of the broken body of the lamb and a portion of the blood from the lamb and made straight to the earth in search for man.

LOVE AT ITS PEAK 7

And having found the trio of transgressors, HE said unto the man “My son despite what you have done, you are still my son, come walk with me. The man followed his creator while the woman followed sheepishly behind. This pronouncement stunned the demons. When the hare sees something strange it scratches its ears and tune it properly to hear aright.

So like the hare the demons tuned their ears to hear more. Their eyes followed the trail of the man eagerly. Haven erected an altar man was shown exactly the manner of the sacrifice that had occurred in the heavenly temple and instructed that should in case he sinned henceforth he should follow this pattern.

LOVE AT ITS PEAK 8

Then was he immersed in the blood of the lamb that the Holy Spirit carried for the washing away of his sin. The piece of skin from the broken body was sewn into clothes and given to the couple to cover their shame. This was too much for the evil spirits to bear. Their expectation was that the ALMIGHTY was coming to kill man as it is written in the law:

Ezek 18:4

4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sins, it shall die.

When they sinned just once they were thrown out of heaven, they expected same treatment for man but instead of the Almighty God to kill man, here HE was showing love and mercy to him forgiving him his sins and promising him pardon even for yet uncommitted sins.

LOVE AT ITS PEAK 9

They began the day with high expectations but to their uttermost chagrin they will now go home crestfallen. When man sinned they jubilated while the Holy Angels mourned. They thought the end have come for man but they have forgotten the words from the wise of old times which says: What the dog sees and begins to jump up and down barking, the sheep have seen it since but kept quiet chewing its cud nodding its head.

Now the Angels rejoiced while they covered their faces in shame and left the scene hurriedly for another event was taking place right then.

LOVE AT ITS PEAK 10

The man had been promised that in later years one would come through him who will save HIS people from their sins. Men from that time will celebrate his birth as Christmas day. And as a token of that which would happen, everyone present at the time of which this event occurred looked and lo and behold the Blood of the slain lamb began to flow earthwards.

It reached up to the highest mountains and flowed to the lowest valleys.

A NEW HEAVEN AND EARTH 1

 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. I saw also the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

A NEW HEAVEN AND EARTH 2

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

A NEW HEAVEN AND EARTH 3

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Then I beheld the city again. It was beautiful beyond description. The walls of the city had twelve foundations. Also it had twelve gates. There were three gates on each side of its perimeter fencing. The city was square shaped.

A NEW HEAVEN AND EARTH 4

And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;

The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

 

A NEW HEAVEN AND EARTH 5

And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.

And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, nor maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.

A NEW HEAVEN AND EARTH 6

 And I saw a pure river of water of life. It was as clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign forever and ever. 

A NEW HEAVEN AND EARTH 7

 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. And I saw these things, and heard them.

 Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

A NEW HEAVEN AND EARTH 8

 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he who is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city, for without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loves and makes a lie.

THE END….. Glory be to God